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52 Project, Week 14: Favorite Scripture

52 Project, Week 14: Favorite Scripture

This is my first chalkboard creation!  My daughter Cat usually makes me beautiful art on the chalkboard that Nate made for me.  Since this was my challenge, I thought I had better give it a try myself.  I didn’t think it was fair to give Cat such a complicated project.  (She insists she could have handled it.)

Drawing with chalk is a lot harder than it appears!  Chalk is thick and flattens with each use, The edges are unpredictable with swirls and curves, unlike using a pen or pencil.  I have to give Cat credit, she makes it look so easy!

Choosing my number one favorite scripture isn’t an easy task.  I have a variety of favorite scriptures.  Actually, I have a book of favorite scriptures!  Narrowing it down to my top two was a little easier.

When I was studying the bible with my mentor, she often helped me find scriptures for life’s problems or questions I had.  As we read through different topics, Isaiah 48:17 occasionally came up.  Karen always mentioned that it was her favorite scripture and it’s not hard to see why.  It’s a great reminder of what’s important in life.

Jehovah is teaching us to help ourselves through his inspired word in the Bible.  The Bible is our guide to life and it can help us with every situation in life.  With daily study and personal, heartfelt prayer, we’re developing a relationship with God and training our consciousness in the way we should walk.

I love that scripture, but I also love the one that follows.

17 This is what Jehovah says, your Repurchaser, the Holy One of Israel: “I, Jehovah, am your God, The One teaching you to benefit yourself, The One guiding you in the way you should walk. 18  If only you would pay attention to my commandments!  Then your peace would become just like a river And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

I love the visual of peace and righteousness.  It soothes and comforts me.  By listening to God and applying his word, peace will be our reward.

Psalms 91:4 is my current favorite.  The wording is a little different, depending on which Bible you use.  My Bible has a more literal translation in an attempt for accuracy.
With his pinions, he will cover you, And under his wings, you will take refuge. His faithfulness will be a large shield and a protective wall.
Personally, I prefer the new international version, with the word feathers instead of pinions.  A Pinion is the outer section of a bird’s wings.  Although a pinion is very specific to what part of God’s wings will cover, pinion is not a regular part of my vocabulary.  

I love this scripture, because of the thought of being protected by God.  I love the visual of being safe, tucked under his wing, like a baby chick.  Conjuring this image in my mind brings tears to my eyes.  It’s like getting a hug from Jehovah.

Do you have a favorite scripture?

Previous Week: 52 Project, Week 13: Kindness
Next Week: 52 Project, Week 15: Hobby
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I Bribed My Kids to Workout with Me

I Bribed My Kids to Workout with Me
5 Week Workout Challenge: Week 2, Day 1

Starting week two of the workout challenge was a bit easier.  My muscles are still aching from last week, but some of that is allergy related.  The kids were really excited to workout again, which was a surprise.  I’m so happy they enjoy it!

We started the workout week with a new workout video! The kids and I had a lot of fun. I had to bribe them with a little bit of iPad time to motivate them to try and finish the entire workout with me.  It worked great!

What’s your favorite video to work out to with your kids?

5 Week Workout Challenge
Previous Day: Day 5: Spring Lake Park
Next Day: Week 2, Day 2: Old Mill Park

 

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This Little Girl Went From Hating Water To Loving It

This Little Girl Went From Hating Water To Loving It

When Princess was born, a nurse offered to fill the tub for me at the hospital.  They had the longest, deepest tub I had ever seen.  I could stretch my legs all the way out without bending my knees.  I could get in and the water and it could cover me up to my neck.  I took a bath a few hours after birth, but I had to get out fast since Princess woke and started crying.

Several times, my nurse offered to fill the tub for me so I could relax with my wee baby and give her, her first bath.  At the time, I was very dizzy and tired from high blood pressure.  Plus, I had visitors coming and going, so rest was not an easy option.  By the time the sun went down, the nurse shift changed.  I had a tiny bit more energy and I thought it would be the perfect time for a bath.  I asked my new nurse to pour the water for me.

As I climbed in, my legs burned.  I could handle it, but it was uncomfortable.  I was debating on getting out when the nurse entered with my naked baby girl.  I mentioned that the water was too hot.  She handed Princess to me and added a few seconds of cold water to the tub.  Not feeling it was much cooler I didn’t lie back in the water.  The nurse took princess from me and set her on my lap in the water, where Princess immediately began to wail.
“It’s too hot!”  I exclaimed anxiously.
I don’t remember what or if she said anything in response, but I do remember being frozen in horror as she roughly and vigorously scrubbed my poor baby girl down with a large amount of soap.  Princess screamed and shrieked and I was rooted to the spot, unable to move, unable to determine what to do.  Before I could make a decision, she dumped water all over princess to wash off the soap.
“It’s too hot!”  I said again, unable to think of anything else to say.  Later I would obsess over all of the things I could have said and done to protect my baby.  Before I could do anything else, the nurse wrapped her in a towel and brought Princess wailing into the room to diaper and dress her.  I stood up and got a towel, unable to bear the heat any longer.

Since that traumatic incident, Princess hated water.  She refused baths completely, and would wail for sponge baths.  The only way to wash her was to hold her to my chest in the shower and lightly let the water over her back for a few seconds at a time.

Princess was always tiny, especially compared to my other three.  I could easily carry her in a sling for her entire first year.  She was my little shadow and joined me in every activity.  I can remember a day where I stood at the sink, washing dishes, when a little hand reached out towards what I was holding.  I was so startled I nearly dropped the dish!  Princess was normally silent when she was with me, watching everything with her big blue eyes and taking it all in.  Sometimes I would forget that she was there, such as this instance.

I did a little experiment and let Princess play with the sink water.  She LOVED it.  After that, I encouraged her to play in the sink with me, as I washed dishes.  One day, when she was fifteen months old, I discovered her playing with the water in the bathroom sink.  After that, she let me put her in the bottom of the shower to play with toys.

Today, my little Princess LOVES water.  I have to fight to keep her away from it some days!  She hops in every puddle she can find.  So when I saw a pair of pink galoshes on sale at Walmart, I knew I had to get them.

The next rainy day, she was thrilled to be able to put her new rain boots to good use.  She jumped and splashed till she was a muddy mess.  When she was done, she had a nice warm shower and a cuddle with Mom before having a nap.

Moments like these are why I’m so thankful I’m a Mother.  My children make everything new again.  Every puddle is a fun, new adventure.

Splashing in the mud is fun!  Do you let your kids play in the mud?

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52 Project, Week 7: Blankets

52 Project, Week 7: Blankets

I was really looking forward to photographing blankets.  I love blankets.  I have a large variety of colors, textures, and sizes.  I knew exactly which colors I wanted and how I was going to photograph them.  I wanted a simple pile of blankets in one color.

I chose my cream blankets because cream is soothing and comforting.  It reminds me of vanilla, my favorite scent.  Cream goes well with every color.  I love the color combination of cream, brown and a bright color.  In my house, you’ll find many shades of each.

Since it gets pretty cold in our house, we have blankets in almost every room.  They’re great to snuggle under for a little extra warmth.  The kids love to make tents out of them.  I can remember making blanket forts as a child and listening to thunderstorms.  I always felt safe and happy in my little hideaway.

Both Nate and I still have our baby blankets.  They’re very worn.   I have a feeling they’ll be frayed and falling to pieces before long.  Every once and awhile we’ll find one of the children curled up in them.  It makes me happy knowing they’ve served their purpose, and wrapped our children in a bit of our love and our parent’s love.

Do you love blankets?  Share with us your favorite blanket!

52 Project, Week 7: Blankets
52 Project, Week 7: Blankets

52 Project, Week 7: Blankets

Previous Week:52 Project, Week 6: Hair
Next Week: 52 Project, Week 8: Winter Trees
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Progress!

We’re making progress but old houses are a lot of work!  Every spare moment is spent fixing, renovating, tearing out, painting, sanding, raking, weeding and washing.  At this point, the house is still not livable.  However, we’re always excited and happy to be here.  We love imaging what will go where.  I can’t wait to see the end result of our finished home.

As you can tell from the images, we are completely redoing the master bathroom.  The previous tenants used the tub as a shower, so there was a lot of mildew and black mold.  Yuck!  we’re going to retile the whole thing and add a bit to the elevated walls surrounding the tub.  We’re ripping out the floor and we’re going to replace it with tile.  We’re also going to put in floor warmers I’m scraping off the border that was glued to the wall so I can repaint.

Previous Post-Work Begins

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Fun Things To Do, At Home, Outside, In Summer

Fun Things To Do, At Home, Outside, In Summer

What a title!  This is the first in a series of fun things to do.  I plan on posting many more for all the seasons.  I’m dividing these up specifically so that it’s easy to find something fun to do, no matter the circumstances.

For this part in the series, I’m focusing specifically on fun things to do, at home, outside, in summer.  I don’t know about you, but some of my best memories of childhood take place outside.  I can remember running through the streets with all of the other kids on my block.  We were completely unsupervised and free to use our imaginations.  I honestly can’t remember my Mom guiding our play.

Unfortunately, in today’s world, it is not safe to let the kids run free and wild outside.  Sadly, I’ve heard many stories in the news about parents being investigated by CPS if children are allowed to walk to the park themselves.  I know that in today’s world, children are being kidnapped and sold, so a simple walk to the park is a thing of the past.  If you’re like me, you want your babies to be safe AND have fun.  So this means that the kids might be contained to the yard.

Usually, I let my kids outside to play on the trampoline and all the neighborhood kids will come running over.  However, there are days when no friends can come to play.  If this is the case, I turn to my handy list of things to do.

Here is a free summer fun printable.  I like to keep mine inside a plastic protector sheet inside a binder.  I’ve seen a lot of fun ideas about putting the lists on popsicle sticks and the like.  Although that idea is neat, for me, it just means a lot of work.  Not to mention more clutter and the chance that the kids will lose, break, eat, leave lying around the house, etc.

fun things to do outside at home list -1

Here are a few 8.5×11 summer fun printout freebies.  I made these with Tagxedo, but you could always make your own with your favorite summer activities.

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For more information and ideas for these activities, check out the links below. Over the Summer I’ll be picking randomly from this list, so check back often!

  • Archery
  • Backyard Camping
  • Backyard Fort
  • Backyard Picnic
  • Basketball Games
  • Bike Ride
  • Blow Bubbles
  • Cartwheels
  • Chalk Art
  • Climb Trees
  • Color or Paint Pictures of Nature
  • Drink Ice Tea and Relax
  • Eat a Meal Outside
  • Eat Watermelon Slices
  • Freeze Tag
  • Gardening
  • Gaze at Stars
  • Have a Bonfire
  • Have a Relay Race
  • Have the Kids Plan and Set Up a Photo Shoot
  • Hopscotch
  • Hula Hoop
  • Invite Friends Over
  • Jacks
  • Jump Rope
  • Kick the Can
  • Lemonade Stand
  • Make and Grill Shish-Ka-Bobs Together
  • Make and Put Up a Birdfeeder
  • Make Dandelion Crowns
  • Make Friendship Bracelets
  • Make Paper Airplanes
  • Make S’mores
  • Marbles
  • Nature Scavenger Hunt
  • Obstacle Course
  • Off the Grid Day
  • Paint Nails
  • Paint Rocks
  • Photo Shoot of the Family
  • Photo Shoot of the Kids
  • Play Don’t Touch the Ground
  • Play Frisbee
  • Play in Kiddie Pool
  • Play With Neighborhood Friends
  • Playing Catch with a Baseball
  • Read
  • Red Rover
  • Safety Drills
  • Sketch
  • Soccer
  • Sprinkler
  • Swing
  • Tag
  • Take a Nap
  • Take a Walk and Watch the Sun Rise
  • Take a Walk and Watch the Sun Set
  • Take Pix of Each Other
  • Throw a Theme Party
  • Trampoline
  • Treasure Hunt
  • Walk to the River
  • Wash the Car
  • Watch the Clouds
  • Watermelon Skewers

What are your favorite fun things to do, at home, outside, in summer?  We’d love to hear from you!  Let us know in the comments!